Best Friends, Right?
by StephanotisTheGreat
Summary: Ben and his two companions are still the saviours of the universe and with Ben's new Omnitrix, anything seems possible... Until he begins to undergo some changes. He realises for certain something that he has suspected since he was ten. And someone wants to take advantage of that. Contains Bevin themes, action, drama and humour.
1. A Battle With Envy

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ben 10 or any of the characters's names, themes or imaginative items mentioned in this FanFiction.**

So, this is the updated version - for those who are familiar with my commentary, you may remember reading something about my writing style changing all the time. Well, me being meticulous and a complete perfectionist, I decided to review my work and improve upon it. I noticed from the number of views and visitors that people were glancing at this chapter and looking elsewhere and I think it was because the writing prior to this wasn't as loyal to how the characters are in the series. Hopefully they're more familiar now though. Please enjoy. :)

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 **Best Friends, Right?**

 **Chapter One: A Battle with Envy.**

From the age of just ten, I knew that I was different. I found it relatively easy to distract myself from what I found to be a burdening circumstance, but it was becoming more impossible to hide by the day, and it wouldn't have changed anything about what I had known for quite some time. Regrettably, my relationship with Julie had only reassured me that my long-term suspicions about my sexual identity were in fact a reality; I just wasn't into girls. I had looked at guys for longer than I cared to admit, but that same day, one guy had me stuck in a complete daze and whenever I fell into this daze, trying to pull myself out of it felt like an impossible battle.

But that wasn't the only battle I was having to front; I was also in the middle of a raging encounter to 'save the world' (or at least stop Bellwood from being destroyed) for the millionth time from the 'fearful wrath' of Vilgax's pathetic excuse for robot infantrymen. I dodged and darted from place to place in the form of XLR8, avoiding whatever attack they through at me, aware that my heroic companions were mimicking my actions on an equally desperate level. As we returned their strikes, I began to feel like we were in a tedious game of cops and robbers, unable to successfully neutralise our unwanted guests.

The clinging and clanking of metal and rock and whatever else hit the robots echoed through the street, along with grunts and shouts from Gwen, Kevin and myself. I could see how hard they were both fighting these things, but it was almost like they were just showing off to each other, which, I'll admit, started to irritate me.

The fact that they were a couple hadn't caused any kind of hindrance in the slightest, but at the time, it started to become a problem. Well, a problem for me; not even an hour before we were tied into this turbulent confrontation, I had sussed a downright vexatious attraction to a black-haired ruffian who just so happened to be Kevin Levin. Unfortunately, this attraction still remorselessly blazed inside me whilst we were in the middle of the tussle and I could only curse the will of fate for unveiling these feelings of magnetism during such an uninvited time. I couldn't help but yearn for the latitude to be with one Kevin Levin but the universe seemed to present me with so many obstacles and reasons as to why it just wasn't meant to be. Being heroes put enough strain on my feelings as it was, but Kevin's transparent love for Gwen, and the blatantly obvious implications of him being straight tightened that strain even further. I didn't blame him or anyone else for it though; these feelings were mine alone after all.

But I began to feel more and more resentful that we had to be the ones to protect the universe every time there was a great enough threat. Don't get me wrong; it felt good knowing that we had the means to do so, but a provoking voice in the corner of my mind began to become more noticeable and it had evolved to the point where ignoring it was virtually impossible. I felt it entice me to just give it all up and dump the responsibility onto another seventeen-year-old boy who longed for the life of a hero. I easily suppressed these pessimistic disconcerting and inaudible thoughts to the very depths of my mind, but that didn't rid them fully and on numerous occasions, I wondered if my cosied-up comrades had ever encountered the same treacherous notions as I did. I concluded that they didn't however, as they were usually quite shamelessly verbal - perhaps more Kevin than Gwen but she'd still made her fair share of outrageous comments. Nevertheless, I still found it mind boggling that I could allow myself to lose my conscience at such an unfavourable time;

 _I've never looked at him like this before, so why now? Maybe it's jealousy of Gwen? It's not like they hold back from expressing their feelings for each other. Or it could be because I've known him for so long... either way, it's an unrealistic goal. He's straight and with Gwen! It's not like I can make that go away._

My thoughts of self-doubt began swarming my mind as I tried to convince myself that it was an impossible fantasy and nothing more. It was as though I was destined to be the heartbroken one who wanted what they could never have and it felt extremely cliché. Although, when I really thought about it, cliché was a completely unsuitable way to describe my unintentional and unanticipated state of affairs. In essence, I was a guy with an alien wristwatch, an Anodite cousin and grandmother, a Plumber grandfather and an Osmosian best friend – the latter of whom just so happened to be my newly found crush.

"Ben!"

My cousin's cry for help yanked me out of my endless daydream and allowed reality to give me one hell of a slap around the face. I looked over to where the desperate squeal had come from and saw Gwen surrounded by a dozen soldiers pointing their blade-like fingers at her, looking like cats about to pounce on their prey all at once. They were ghastly looking creations; enveloped in a dark metallic colour with glowing yellow eyes that appeared to create a threatening highlight on their emotionless faces. I let my eyes pan down to the light chromium blades and saw just how determined they were to victimise one of us by slashing us open. I could almost envision the volume of blood that would be seen dripping from them if they were to achieve their ambition. My stomach churned at the thought and I felt a sickly feeling swell from within. I had seen all kinds of petrifying creatures since I began to pursue my career as 'saviour of the universe' but these were undoubtedly the most blood-curdling creations I had ever had the misfortune to set my eyes on.

I took note that there was only a handful of these monstrous soldiers, which was an unusual move for Vilgax; it wasn't aggressive enough. They may have been significantly more threatening than many of his other soldiers, but there weren't enough of them; when Vilgax usually attacked, he'd send entire battalions all at once. Either that or he'd come and face me himself, which proved a more effective way to go up against me in the past, despite his failures to succeed.

Just as I was about to transform from XLR8 into Jetray to help my, oh-so-pretty, redhead cousin, I caught a glance of Kevin preparing himself to play hero for his lover. However, just as he was about to propel himself to the rescue, she spun around without thinking and, using her powers, practically demolished the wall of soldiers that encircled her. She shot Kevin and myself a smug look of victory and walked towards us, littering the streets with the metallic soldiers behind her.

"You both took too long, what were you doing? Picking your noses?" She teased us with a cheeky grin and a giggle.

"Hey! I was about to kick their butts!" Kevin looked a little intimidated by his sweetheart and it was clearly entertaining for her to see.

"Yeah, but you didn't since you took too long," She shot him playful smirk and he glared at her for a few seconds. But, their facial expressions softened to a gentle tone and it was almost as if Gwen was flirtatiously wrapping Kevin around her little finger, just by teasing him. I could see exactly what she was doing, it was like she was giving Kevin what he wanted; a girlfriend who knew how to stand up for herself, despite how much he loved to play the role of Prince Charming to his needy princess. I felt myself cringe at the thought of her manipulating him so easily. Although, I couldn't exactly call it manipulation; she did this all the time. It was just her way of teasing him and giving us all a reason to giggle the battle off.

 _At least she wasn't playing damsel in distress. I'd rather see her boast about her powers. She loves to threaten Kevin's dominance that he seems to have over us though. But that's why he likes her. She doesn't pretend to be something she's not. So why am I?_

I couldn't help but focus on the way I was feeling; it was becoming unbearable, being around someone but unable to express my feelings for them. Gwen seemed to have everything going for her in that moment; she was kind, light-hearted, loyal, funny, beautiful, powerful and most importantly, she was a _girl_. It wasn't that I had a problem with being a boy though – I loved it. There were so many reasons why I loved being a boy but the excuse I had for wanting to be a girl was enough to convince me that this was what I wanted. Obviously, it wasn't going to happen as being a girl wasn't what I wanted at all; I just wanted Kevin. And I didn't know why. I watched Kevin wrap his right arm around Gwen's waist while she gave him a peck on the cheek as they began to walk towards his car. I tagged along behind them with reluctance.

 _This is starting to feel so cliché._

I was on a mission to distract myself from my feelings of envy for Gwen and carried this out by pointing mental insults at their tediously romantic relationship. Not that it was particularly romantic, however. Their intimacy was just more noticeable now that I liked Kevin. I felt like I was being so desperate, aimlessly conjuring up silly thoughts to insult a relationship I was once happy for, and it only seemed to underline just how much I wanted to be in my cousins' place. It's just as well though; I do have green eyes.

 **End of Chapter One.  
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	2. The Pretty Lies

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ben 10 or any of the characters's** **names, themes or imaginative items mentioned in this FanFiction.**

Again, this chapter has been adjusted slightly, so you will notice some changes. :)

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 **Chapter Two: The Pretty Lies.**

 _Was he..._ Looking _at me? Did I have something on my face? Some toothpaste? Maybe a scratch from battle? He acted so strange during battle, it was like he wasn't even with us. He didn't say a single word the whole journey home and now he's just sitting there in a complete daze, staring at the floor like it's a wonder of the world._

Regardless of what I thought of his odd behaviour, I couldn't help but feel concerned; what if he'd been hit over the head when Gwen and I weren't looking?

As I approached the concrete steps, I let my mind wonder to the past as I began to conjure up almost forgotten images from the depths of my mind of Ben and I battling each other like a pair of wild animals. Part of me felt perplexed due to how much our once uncivilised relationship had transformed into an extraordinary friendship... And yet I felt indignant towards our acquired friendship due to an agreement that I had arranged with someone long before I had even considered talking to the hero. Nevertheless, I could only assume that it was what made our friendship as strong as steel and only admire that so much passion derived from so much hatred. For obvious reasons, none of this would have ever rolled off my tongue to either of the cousins; not only would they have never let me live it down, I was too much of a, what they call, "ruffian" for "soft talk". I didn't really understand it but I suppose I just had one of those faces.

I kept my eyes on the hero as I made my way up the white steps. I expected him to recognise the somewhat distinct tapping of my shoes pitter-pattering on the concrete below and it should have been enough to grab his attention. Apparently however, he found the soulless black tiles too enchanting to pluck his attention away from them. So instead of welcoming me with a grin like he usually did, he remained oblivious to my typically loud presence and continued indirectly praising the utterly unprepossessing black tiles. Not even the vivid moonlight reflected off them, which diminished their charisma all the more.

"I don't think that porch knows that you're looking at it... You need to be more direct if you want it to notice you," I broke the silence with a daunting grin and a cheeky humorous tease, which seemed to have done the trick, though not in the way I had hoped; the conventionally self-aware brunette head-turner flinched at my comment, as if it were a bullet that barely missed him. He looked at me wide-eyed with disturbance and I peered into his mind as scorned green eyes ridiculed brown.

"Er... Is everything okay?" I pestered, raising an eyebrow at him out of apprehension and incertitude.

He became all flustered and darted his eyes from place to place before glaring out onto the road and locating a reasonable explanation to his unfamiliar hysteria.

"Oh, yeah, er... I'm fine... Guess I'm just a little tired as all. It's practically three in the morning..." He trailed off with a nervous laugh and went to inspect his Omnitrix for the time. Realising that it didn't tell the time, he let out a small nervous giggle as he smiled up at me.

I responded by keeping my eyebrow raised with a questioning, possibly intimidating glare down at him.

"So, did Gwen get home okay? You were gone for quite a while..." he ushered himself back to normality at which I felt the tension in the warm air release like the muscles in a body builder would when he finishes his workout for the day.

 _He's acting so_ weird. _He's usually a sarcastic little sod or a whiney little girl when I look at him like that. Whatever._

I ignored my thoughts and continued to look down at him. I then noticed the green-eyed hero carry out an unfamiliar gesture that, in a sense, caught me off-balance; he manoeuvred his legs up to his body, resting his finely chiselled chin upon his spherical knees and linked his hands in between the upside-down 'V' shape created by his legs. While his actions puzzled me, his facial expression alerted me; he looked mildly depressed. I decided to turn a blind eye to his bewildering and startling manner **,** though at asubstantial price; had I known the events that would take place the following morning, I would never have ignored it.

Hesitating for a brief but notable moment, I replied with angst to Ben's casual, yet suspiciously distracting question;

"Uh… yeah, she got home fine I guess, nothing to report at least. We took a scenic route to hers, she wanted to talk to me about something that had been worrying her for the past few days," Initially, my answer had generated an uncomfortable amount of awkward tension between us that I was desperately trying to avoid confronting. So, I thought I'd disguise it with a somewhat malicious but exuberant tease; "Were you waiting up for me?" I presented the brunette another devilish grin while mimicking his technique of distraction he'd imposed on me by shifting the topic. He was clearly unaware of my discretion and so my accidental but subtle hint about the conversation I'd had with Gwen went completely over his head.

"Pfft, as if…" He shot me a devilish grin back but immediately trailed off in the most peculiar way. He quickly recovered however and continued with his answer as quickly as possible; "Well, thanks for getting Gwen home safely… uh, I'll come inside in a minute, I'm just enjoying the peaceful streets while they last…" Once again, he trailed off, making it so blatantly obvious that something was troubling him, and yet, once again, I ignored his relatively awkward tone, conclusive that it was either the heat or he really _was_ just tired.

"Er okayyy, I guess I'll be off to bed then… night," I swiftly announced that I was retiring to my chamber and made my way inside the house, travelling up the ornamental staircase, participating in a brief confrontation with Sandra and parting from the world to finally conceal myself away in my room.

As much as I wanted to distinguish his apparent troubles, I continued to force myself to believe that my previous assumptions about Ben's transparently peculiar behaviour were in fact, a reality. And yet I couldn't bring myself to tear my mind away from him. He was after all, despite all his annoyances, my closest friend and despite the abuses and unpleasant glares we gave each other from time to time, I would have happily listened to him and been someone for him to lean on when he needed it. I knew that Gwen shared the same values as myself and would gladly give up some time for him. But he was stubborn and often didn't realise how much Gwen and myself cared for him. It always annoyed me how much distance he seemed to create around himself from everyone.

 _Man, something must be really bothering him. He makes it so blatantly obvious – such a little girl. I guess I better sleep since it's… only nearly ten 'o' clock? Is my watch broken…?_

I picked up my phone and gently tapped the home button, the sound of the quiet click shattering the near silence in my room – aside from the indistinct distortion of almost inaudible words coming from the television downstairs. The screen lit up and tore through the darkness without mercy for my eyes and as I attuned my vision, I realised the time was in fact, only nearly ten 'o' clock.

 _No, Ben was just being unaware as usual… stupid… Either way, I guess I may as well sleep since I there's nothing better to do and it's been a long day. And even I, with this charming face, need my beauty sleep._

My final thoughts managed to evolve stupendously, shifting from concern for Ben to criticising him in a matter of barely two seconds. Not to mention the self-praise I'd managed to parachute into my thoughts. But still, my worries for Ben sustained a dominating position in my cranium even as I peacefully began to fall into a quiet and well deserved slumber.

 **End of Chapter Two.**


	3. Just A Fool

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ben 10 or any of the character's names, themes or imaginative items mentioned in this FanFiction.**

This chapter has also been updated. :)

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 **Chapter Three: Just A Fool.**

For what felt like only a brief few minutes, I stayed slumped on the bench on the front porch, searing in the heat of the evening atmosphere and mused about the conversation I'd had with Kevin. I felt like my brain was sizzling with thoughts, so much that I could almost hear the steam escaping through my ears. I remained in my foetal position with my hands conjoined in between my lower legs and thighs and continued to stare out into the road, unable to bring myself to move. Or breathe.  
 _Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, you are an idiot. He can tell something's up. I could see it in his eyes, the worry that I'm causing him. He doesn't need this on his plate. I can't let him find out that I like him. It'll destroy our friendship. He's clearly straight. I mean look at him! The cheeky grin, the rugged clothes, the muscles, the way he walks… I guess I just need to try to carry on as normal for now… but of all the people to fall for, why him? And why now?_

Of all the aspects that I began mulling over, there was one significant detail I left out of my conscience; the fact that he was with my cousin. It suddenly came to my attention that even if he _did_ like me back in the way that I liked him, I wouldn't have allowed him to break Gwen's heart by leaving her… for _me_. And even if he _did_ swing in the same direction as myself, I couldn't envision him being attracted to a guy whose height was at a disadvantage to his younger female cousin's and whose body was at a disadvantage to his father's – traits that I had come to resent myself and my family members for long ago. No, I could only visualise him being attracted to a guy who was as buffed up as himself, who had an equally stubborn sense of social intellect and who also emitted nothing but strong heterosexual vibes.

I managed to extinguish the thoughts and nurtured myself into becoming more aware of my surroundings as I noticed a black feline friend sat parallel to my position on the other side of the road, looking at me in the most peculiar fashion; it was like peering through the eyes of something that was tainted with pure evil disguised as something so innocent and elegant, almost charming. I felt uneasy but at last, I had hauled myself out of my reflections and probed the pocket in my jeans to inspect my phone for the time. It read 11:31pm.

 _Eleven thirty-one and_ _I told Kev' that it was three in the morning. I. Am such. An idiot. He must think I've gone totally berserk._

I buried my head in my hands for a minute or so, still perched on the porch of my parents' house and ushered myself to sit up again, only to see that the cat was now rolling around on the grass, playfully teasing me over. I smirked but decided against voyaging over to where the cat was as I unexpectedly craved the comforts of home. I scraped together the remaining courage I had left and advanced into the luxury of some cool air conditioning gently caressing my neck and spine, relieving me of the unbearable evening heat. Every now and then, I thought back to the half hour long journey home with Gwen and Kevin; it was virtually non-existent for me though – I let myself tumble into a complete daze and ignored my surroundings entirely. However, I had flashbacks of Gwen saying she needed to talk to Kevin privately about something, just as Kevin had hinted beforehand.

 _I wonder what Gwen wanted to talk to Kevin about. It must have been serious for Kevin to feel the need to drop me home first and then come back, unless it was just so she could have some 'alone' time with him… gross._

I stood under the air conditioning in the hallway for about a minute and a half, basking in the cool air, permitting myself to zone out of reality for just a little while longer before finally kicking off my shoes and draping my jacket over the decorative banisters. Just as I was about to heave myself up to my room, it suddenly transpired to me that I hadn't caught a glimpse of my parents for around thirteen hours. I felt reluctance dominate my most inner thoughts as I tried to totter up the stairs without success. For a purpose, unbeknownst to me, I wanted to see my somewhat bossy mother and somewhat grumpy father and so reduced my tottering to an enthusiastic walk in the opposite direction, striding rearwards down the two steps I had mounted and rotating myself to walk in the path of obliterating sound emanating from the oversized television. I studied the living room from behind the camouflage of the door to discover my parents were sitting comfortably on the sofas observing the television exhibiting what looked to be an absorbing film. Once again, I felt reluctant to move forwards but garnered the nerve needed to do so and was greeted with an unfamiliar welcome instead of a predictable pester.

"There you are, I was wondering where you got to. Are you okay? I've been worried about you, you know. I'm just glad you're home safe though," As I was about to reassure my mother that I was perfectly fine, I felt a warmth encapsulate me as she got up, hurried over to where I was standing and held me with a warm embrace.

I'll admit, it caught me off balance for a second, but I welcomed a cuddle from someone at the time. I'd never have admitted it but I rested my head on her shoulder and wrapped my arms around my mother with gratitude and eagerness. I felt like a little boy again, only this time, I wasn't trying to get away from her and I wasn't moaning that she cared about me.

"Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink? You look a little thin honey," She commenced with her usual ritual of spoiling me with her attention after a battle – although smothering me would be a more appropriate way of putting it.

Typically, I would have protested and grumbled about it, distancing myself from her in the process. But, it hadn't been a typical day and so I thought I may as well go with the flow and continue experiencing foreign circumstances. I relished in the luxury my mother was providing me with delight as she went to fetch me some nourishment. A segment of me felt as incompetent of getting food and water as a house pet because I was allowing myself to be so needy. But I understood why I was tolerating it. After a particularly satisfying meal in the unusual presence of my parents stealing a glance every now and then to check on how I was devouring the delicious food my mother had prepared for me, I took a place beside my mother on the sofa parallel to the television while my father sat on the sofa adjacent to us. I felt a heartfelt hand on my shoulder as my mother placed a pillow on her lap and piloted my head down to rest on it.

"You look tired sweetie," She spoke quietly with love oozing from the sound of her words.

I hadn't felt so close to her in years. Over half a decade to be more precise. I wanted to protest and embark on my usual journey to my room but I was too tired and for once, I was enjoying the company of my parents. I allowed her to guide my head down onto the pillow on her lap as felt her gently fondling my hair. I smiled and curled up next to her, cherishing the moment, clinging to it like there was no tomorrow. I caught sight of my father glancing over at his family presenting some tender loving care for each other at last. I could sense the relief and comfort that he got out of it and I could tell he wanted to keep watching. Despite noticing his apparent glances, I continued to stare into the television, studying the film, trying to work out what would happen next. For the first time since I was about nine or ten, I felt _normal_ again and I was finally able to let all the events prior to then vanish from my memory. The Omnitrix, the aliens, the risks… even Kevin. Suddenly, nothing else in the universe mattered to me more than my family.

 _Why haven't I made more time for my family? I'm always sacrificing it for the universe or for hanging out with friends or for soccer practice. What about them…? Wow, for once I'm not only thinking about sumo slammers and Mr. Smoothie – it usually doesn't get more in-depth than that. But why, of all days, do I want to be 'normal' now? What about the time when I used to love the excitement of it all? What happened to the little boy who used to love kicking alien butt? It's okay to change your mind, isn't it? Not that I'll get much say in the matter anyway. What if I were to give the watch up to grandpa? He was the one who was meant to find it, not_ me. _I guess it's too late for that now though; he's had no first-hand experience with it like I have. Plus, he thinks about things too much before doing them – I can think of so many times I've had to improvise and think on my feet to get out of bad situations. Without that, the Omnitrix would probably be in the hands of someone like Vilgax. Maybe it was fate. Maybe, because I was so young, it meant I could learn how to wield it quicker and better than someone older than me could._

As my thoughts finally came to settle, I felt my eyelids grow heavy with a sudden anticipation to close and as they secured themselves shut, I let the events of the day slip away into the night, leading my conscience with them.

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I awoke unexpectedly from my snooze and sat up to realise that my mother had departed from the living room with my father, leaving me snuggled under a blanket on the sofa still. I let my eyes pan over to where a steady and calming glow was coming from and saw that an oversized glass table lamp had been left on for my own reassurance for when I woke up. At my own leisure, I sat up and looked around, slightly disoriented from my slumber. I yawned and stretched my arms out in front of me, my whole body contracting and then relaxing all at once. Once I grasped onto reality and became fully aware of my surroundings and was certain that I wasn't caught in an endlessly long cranny in my cranium, I looked at the time; it was three 'o' clock in the morning. I strode up the stairs with confidence, conquering two steps at a time eager to get to the security of my bed. Once I had brushed my teeth and washed my face, I caught a glimpse of a small red dot tainting the purity of the complexion on my face.

 _Great; a zit. Of all days, you had to choose today, didn't you? Hopefully Kev' doesn't notice… not that I care… He's not interested in me like that… and he always finds a way to tease me anyway. It's not like he'd be acting any different from how he normally is if he_ did _._

It suddenly dawned on me that whenever I noticed a flaw in myself, I used it as a reason as to why Kevin didn't want me the way I wanted him. It was, for lack of a better, more empathetic word, _pathetic._ I knew why he didn't want me; it wasn't difficult to work out and understand. He loved Gwen. He was straight. So why was I so determined to find completely unrealistic and unreasonable excuses for why he didn't want me?

Nevertheless, I shook off the overly cynical and perpetuating thoughts with ease and drew my full attention to combatting the unattractive blemish on my skin. I began ruthlessly searching through a drawer beneath the bathroom sink in front of me and eventually came across a small white and blue tube of blemish cream. I put a small blob onto the zit and thought nothing more of it. I turned the bathroom light off and noticed a yellow radiance escaping from behind Kevin's bedroom door.

 _That's weird, he never wakes up this early. Unless he never went to sleep?_

I ignored the glowing door and banished Kevin from my mind as best I could out of fear that I may start to dwell in negativity again. Instead of standing in the hallway wandering what was happening behind the door, I turned around and walked into the privacy of my room, closing the door and closing Kevin out of my thoughts for good. I stripped down to my boxer briefs and laid in bed, closing my eyes with strong anticipation to get to sleep and continue forgetting Kevin was only a mere ten meters away from me. Little did I know that I would have no choice but to think of nothing _but_ Kevin that night – and not in the way I'd have liked to.

 **End of Chapter Three.  
**

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Leave a review and tell me what you think works and what doesn't. I'd be grateful for any feedback in your reviews. Also stroking my ego never hurts things. :P


	4. Curiosity Killed Kevin

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ben 10 or any of the character's names, themes or imaginative items mentioned in this FanFiction.**

This chapter has also been updated but I've only changed one or two sentences. :)

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 **Chapter Four: Curiosity Killed Kevin.**

We were kissing, feeling each other, holding each other… _loving_ each other. Our tongues intertwined as our hands continued to explore every mountain and valley on each other's body, searching for a weak spot to taunt and tease one another, encouraging each other's fingertips to pursue their exploration. I felt myself squirm at a newly discovered weak spot being tormented by foreign hands. From _his_ foreign hands. And yet I wanted more. I begged for more, I couldn't get enough. I was desperate for the feeling to linger and suddenly, much to my dissatisfaction, I awoke.

Shocked at what I had just seen in my unanticipated and unwelcome dream, I sat up to wake myself up further and just as I did, I heard heavy footsteps making their way up the staircase. I flicked my light on and allowed it to push me to the brink of irritation as I ferociously massaged my eyes to accustom them to the new lighting. I felt like my head was on fire as thoughts that had never entered my mind began to torment me, teasing newer thoughts out that never seemed possible. Along with this, my conscience began quarrelling with the unwanted notions but they continued to stun me and thus, I heard a war begin in my brain.

 _What the hell was that? Of all people, why him?_

I clicked the home button once again on my phone to inspect the overpriced gadget for the time. It read 03:02. I couldn't help but feel guilty and resentful towards myself because of the dream. I had an unpleasant feeling encapsulate my entire body and for a moment, I felt like someone was squeezing me out of pure cruelty with the intention to make me regurgitate the practically non-existent contents of my stomach. I abolished the callous feeling and buried my head in my arms that were resting innocently on my knees. I felt like I could never look at myself the same way again.

 _I've been asleep for barely five hours and_ that's _what I dream about. That was beyond disgusting… What the hell was I thinking? Urgh, I don't feel well now…_

As I fought valiantly against the resilient contemplations, I felt like I was just being dragged deeper into a pit filled with landmines. I felt a little like a moth to a flame – aside from the fact that I wasn't intentionally going back to think about something that nauseated me so much. As a last resort to rid everything from my attention eternally, I decided to try to go back to sleep. As I switched the light back off, I heard a door close resulting in my thoughts once again running wild with wonder.

 _What if he dreamt the same thing…? Urgh, what is_ wrong _with me?! I don't want to_ know _if he's dreamt the same thing and I hope to God he_ never _finds out about this. He'd probably shrug it off and ignore it anyway, kinda like he shrugs off and ignores everything else. Why am I still thinking about this?! I need to sleep._

I tossed and turned on my bed, pathetically attempting to gather relief and disremember the events that took place in my head. Ultimately, I had no choice but to pay attention to what was keeping my awake; an unintentional fluctuation of my hormones. I felt like all the blood in my body was accumulating in one place and it was anxious for attention. If I was to drift tranquilly back to sleep, I had to get _it_ to sleep first. Without delay, I conjured up unforgettable and enjoyable images of my lover, the girl of my dreams. The girl I wished I had dreamt about. I began performing the necessary actions required to get my uninvited 'friend' to sleep. The pants and groans were escaping my lips without my permission but I didn't care. I had taken fate into my own hands for an extraordinary ten minutes and allowed myself to slip into a mixture of relief and astonishing delight. My whole body was in pure ecstasy as I wriggled and writhed sprawled across my crinkled bedsheets as I approached the final moments of my ecstatic condition and finally achieved the pinnacle of my actions. My legs tensed with my toes curling in response, and as I let out one final, louder groan of pleasure, I let go of the unbearable ache ascending from my groin, with the images in my mind shifting, allowing unwelcome imaginations of _him_ to guide me to the finish line.

I couldn't believe it; I had allowed him to slither back into my attention like a snake. I felt myself collapse in relief and guilt as I unwillingly stirred up a mindboggling emotion of rage and despair and passion and lust, enveloping me in an indescribable aura of negativity. I sat up cautiously, feeling queasy and uncertain of myself. It was like I had violated and harassed my conscience by allowing such a repulsing thought to disrupt my once beyond enjoyable activity. Eventually, I supressed the uncontrollable guilt that had an unprecedented hold over my thoughts and ridded myself of the now tainted liquid that was spread out all over my muscular body. What once felt so right and natural now felt so erroneous and unforgivable. I amassed together the remaining strength I concealed and raised myself to my feet. Unconsciously, I walked over to the window and opened it, hoping to feel a cool tempting breeze to confide in, secretly praying for it to carry away my thoughts and forgive me. Alas, there was none; the heat was scorching, even in the black of the night and it only seemed to strengthen the guilt that now troubled me.

 _This has_ got _to be a nightmare… I mean_ him, _of all people,_ him.

It wasn't even the fact that I had thought about another man sexually; it was the fact that the man I'd thought about was my best friend. I carried on gazing into the night, pleading for the lights in the distance to calm my anxieties. I must have looked like a puppy begging for food. At last, I wrenched myself out of my thoughts and sat on my bed, my temples aching with frustration and disappointment. I felt like I was completely losing my mind trying to rid myself of the sinful images. I really needed to forget the memory more than anything. I couldn't let it drag me down any further. I had been trying to evaluate the nightmare for nearly two and a half hours; the time on my phone read 5:23am.

 _I_ need _to let this go. I_ have _to pull myself out of this. It was just a small dream. There's nothing wrong about being curious is there?_

And that is what I was in denial of; the fact that the dream was the result of curiosity. Once again, not because he was of the same sex as myself. But because he was my _best friend_. My confusion constantly continued to tease me until it dominated everything that made me who I was, leading my patience to be on the cusp of explosion. Inevitably, I let out a roar of unparalleled fury and rage. And as I let my body slump to the bed, everything went blank.

 **End of Chapter Four.  
**


	5. Deadly Nights

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ben 10 or any of the character's names, themes or imaginative items mentioned in this FanFiction.**

Again, minuscule changes, but they could be significant. :)

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Deadly Nights.**

"ARGHHHHHH!"

I heard Kevin exhale a monstrous growl of overwhelming agony and ire and for a moment, my heart stopped. Without thinking, I dived out of bed and immediately headed for Kevin's room, clinging to the hope that I had for him to be okay like my life depended on it. The short three or four seconds it took me to arrive in his room felt like they were nothing short of lifetime as my mind whirled devastating thoughts around my head. I couldn't help but fear the worst.

As soon as I opened the door, the light blinded me and it took me a further two seconds to adjust my eyes. It was almost as if I had entered heaven and Kevin had moved on from this world. I rubbed my eyes and panned over to where Kevin's bed stood and saw him laying sprawled across his bed like a starfish, with his face turned away from the door. My heart was in my mouth as I desperately tried to hold my breath to prepare for the worst. Automatically, I cautiously began to walk over to his almost lifeless body and as I was about to check his pulse, he let out a deep breath. I gasped for air and crouched down to the floor, holding my chest, feeling like a bus had been lifted off me.

 _You idiot! I thought you were dead…_

Tears flooded my vision as I looked up to see him breathing normally, his gorgeously muscular back rising and falling to the rhythm of his deep, masculine breaths. I was entirely transfixed on him for a moment and I let him encapsulate my conscience. It was as if the previous twenty seconds had never existed as my worries floated away with no trace of them being left behind. I stood to my full potential and took a few steps forward to stand over him, watching his face as he slept. I felt my stomach spiral into tight knots as my heart rate tripled. I was in a complete trance yet again, just as I had been in battle with him earlier. Without thinking, I raised my hand to his forehead and stroked the back of my index finger down to the bottom of his left cheek. I quickly realised what I had done and expected him to wake up to me, standing in nothing but my boxer briefs watching him sleeping, mirroring my dress sense for bed. I took a step back but kept my eyes on him and let out a smile that felt honest and genuine. I switched the light off with a gentle flick and began my short voyage back to my room, leaving the door closed behind me.

 _I guess my imagination was just running away with me again… he was fine._

I got back to my room and instinctively climbed back into my bed, spreading myself out to set free as much heat as possible. I tossed and turned as the sun began to rise, sparkling through the elongated gap in my curtains. I automatically covered my face with my covers and continued embarking on my journey to sleep miserably failing grab hold of it.

 _Ugh, it's hopeless, I can't sleep._

I abruptly and impatiently pushed the covers away from my face, sighing in frustration. I grabbed my phone for the time which read 05:57am, and explored the news on Google. There was nothing new; "alien attack stopped by Ben Tennyson and comrades" and "Donald Trump's rise in popularity for next president of the USA". It was, for lack of a better word, quite boring. The only article that caught my attention was the fact that Star Wars was releasing its seventh film after ten years, which excited me a lot. Furthermore, Sumo Slammers was releasing another new game which I thought would be amazing. When I lost my interest in the news after barely ten minutes of scrolling through article after article, I had a flick through iTunes for some new music. There was nothing too interesting unfortunately; every album was generic pop with nothing special about the way it had been produced, sung or composed.

 _I wander what it would have been like to be able to play the piano or guitar… Learning how to wield a musical instrument can't be anywhere near as hard as learning to wield the Omnitrix can it?_

I felt myself cringe with envy for people who could play an instrument; they had normal lives and had the time to learn and improve on their technique, while I was stuck chasing bad guys. As much as I was struggling to control it, I hated thinking so negatively about my heroism. It dragged me down and encouraged me to overthink something that I just wanted to ignore. But, it occurred to me that if I had a normal life, I would probably never have met Kevin and I was so grateful that I knew the Osmosian ruffian. I felt myself blushing at the thought of him on the bed with me by his side, stroking his face.

 _Maybe he was awake… what if he enjoyed it?_

I was hoping, wishing, _praying_ that he was awake and loved the feel of my touch. But I knew better than that; it was, inevitably, just an unbearable desire and nothing could change that. I wanted to do it again, but I could barely sit up, let alone pull myself away from my comfortable bed and if he was awake, me walking into his room would just look creepy. My instincts took over as I began to explore my body as I had done many times before, imagining it was his hands all over me instead of mine. I closed my eyes and whimpered a little, biting my lip to stop any voluble moans from pushing past my mouth. At that moment, something in the back of my head wriggled its way through the cracks in my brain and escaped into my vision. It was familiar, an event that had recently happened, almost nostalgic. But in a bad way; I felt the urge to cuddle myself into a ball and hide back under the covers and so I did just that. I kept trying to banish the torturous thought from my head but it was no use; it had taken a hold on me and there was nothing I could do.

 _"You seriously think that we can still be friends now? How do you expect me to just forget this happened? I'm straight Tennyson, and knowing that you look at me that way… it sickens me. We can't be friends now. You're disgusting."_

It was a dream. A dream that was beyond excruciating to my emotions. It tormented me as his words kept spinning around and around in my head, wailing in my ears like a ghost in the night. I felt a tear escape my eye and I was pulling at my hair, trying to tear out the vicious attacks from my head. I writhed and groaned silently in pain desperately trying to abolish the typhoon of thoughts in my head. Eventually, something pulled me out of my torturous state; a click coming from my door and silent footsteps from whomever had pushed open the door. I heard them gradually walk over to my bed and stand over me for a second or so. I quivered a little, wondering who it was, hoping it was mom or dad. Without warning, they pulled the cover away from me and as I reached for the lamp on my bedside table, a familiar face lit up and dominated my vision.

"Kevin?!"

 **End of Chapter Five.  
**

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I'm probably sounding desperate but please write me a review. xD


	6. A Stranger in My Room

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ben 10 or any of the character's names, themes or imaginative items mentioned in this FanFiction.**

I changed very little in this chapter, might be worth a skim through though. :)

* * *

 **Chapter Six: A Stranger in My Room.**

By the time I pulled the covers away from his face and body to make him jump, I got the impression he had been crying and felt a surge of sympathy ignite in my blood stream. But I succeeded with accuracy in my ambition to startle him; he was about to use his Omnitrix in self-defence. I saw him frown just as I went to silence him for the sake of his parents' zeds.

"Shhh, chill out Tennyson! You'll wake your parents up. And besides, it's just me," I gestured my hands towards myself and smirked devilishly at the terrified expression written on his face.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! You're lucky I didn't go Humungousaur on your ass!" He squirmed in annoyance and slight anger, trying to peculiarly hide his face and just as he managed to veil most of it, I spotted a small zit on his chin, screaming out for attention.

"Okay, okay, chill out zit face," I teased with an unnerving smirk.

"Piss off Kevin, I'm not in the mood," He practically growled at me like a wild animal. I kept my patience and continued trying to make a joke out of it all.

"Awwww, come on, how could you be angry at little ol' me?" I said, attempting to put on a puppy-eyed face without smirking. I got a small smirk from the green eyed Omnitrix wielder before he shook it off and returned to his unusual mood of extreme frustration.

"I mean it Kevin. I'm not in the mood,"

"Who the hells pissed in your cornflakes? You were fine earlier…" I snapped at him, speaking firmer and louder than I intended to before trailing off into silence.

"Kevin, why're you here? It's six in the morning and I was about to get back to sleep before _you_ barged in,"

 _Me?_ Me, _as if to say I'm so problematic to him. What the hell?_

I ignored his tone and decided to stop the joking and teasing. Something was up and I was intent to find out what it was.

"Why'd you wake up in the first place?" I inquired in a genuine, almost caring tone, trying to be a good friend.

"I had a nightmare…" He buried his face further into his covers as he replied with a slight nervous edge to his voice that made me feel uneasy and suspicious. Regardless, I took his feelings into consideration for once and thought about what I could say to him to make him feel better. Not that I really _cared_ or anything. It was just a nightmare after all.

 _Wow, must've been a bad one if it kept him awake. But it's not as if he's never had nightmares before, so I wonder what was so scary about this one…_

Instead of saying the considerate thought, for a reason unknown to me, I reversed back to my teasing and joking and spewed out a mocking comment at him.

"Aweee, poor lil' Benji's had a nightmare," The grin across my ruffian face must have been extremely intimidating, which was, in my defence, just a side-effect of the way I look.

He pushed the covers back to uncover his face and looked at me furiously, the crinkles in his usually flawless complexion staring into me to send me on a guilt trip. At the same time, however it was like peering into the eyes of someone with a thousand suns burning deep inside them. Furious was an understatement. But I managed to look through it and just saw a very melodramatic Ben.

"Well, why the hell are YOU awake then, Levin?" He asked me, authority dominating his voice. I patiently ignored his tone once more, hesitating as I let the anger from within me fade into neutrality.

"Well, you probably don't wanna know, but put it this way; it's a great stress relief and it feels amazing. But I couldn't get back to sleep after which is unusual for me," I strayed my eyes away from his and stared at the floor, not daring to pan up to his green emeralds; I was lying through my teeth. I couldn't sleep for a while, yes. But only because I felt so guilty and horrible about who I had thought about while I 'finished'. And then I don't remember much other than waking up to daylight.

"You're right, I really _don't_ want to know," He once again, spoke to me in an unjust tone of annoyance and rolled onto his side, allowing his back to give me an unforgiving stare as I finally brought myself around to look at him.

I looked at his thick brunette locks and frowned at his ignorant pose before pulling myself to retaliation mode.

 _He will not keep talking to me like that._

"Tennyson, it's nature, grow up, it's not as if you haven't done it and plus I'm sure you've slept with a few girls in your time," I scolded him like a parent, trying to understand and analyse his odd behaviour and unusually aggressive tone.

"I... Er..." He trailed off, trying to lie like I had. Trying to hide his secret as best he could but inevitably, he gave it away.

I thought about it for a moment, trying to work out what "er," had meant. In about three seconds, I realised what the secret was. I grew wide-eyed in recognition and took a few seconds to contemplate the slightly shocking yet somehow unsurprising new information.

 _No. Freaking. Way. He's a virgin!_

"Yo-you're a virgin, aren't you?" I nervously yet tauntingly stated as I felt a laugh begin to swell inside me.

My stomach twisted into ticklish knots and I tried so desperately not to let the laugh escape my insides. But it was no use; I _had_ to let it out. As my right hand dashed to my head while I held my stomach with my left, I bent over to contain the ticklish feeling, frenetically trying stop it from conquering any other part of my undeniably muscular body. I then felt myself fall into uncontrollable fits of pathetically restrained laughter. I unwillingly dropped to my knees, still holding my stomach and laughing like a ten-year-old child. I did my best to try and silence my childish amusement by looking up at him, still holding onto my stomach like my life depended on it. Two minutes of cackles and pants filled the room before I finally stopped laughing and regained control of my body. I gently rubbed some tears of laughter away from my sleepy eyes while letting the last few giggles escape my stomach to sooth the tickling sensation from within. I patiently scrambled to my feet and looked at Ben again. He looked exactly how he had looked earlier when he was sitting on the porch; depressed. Like he was insecure and having trouble accepting himself. I felt self-resentment engulf me for a moment because of how much I had clearly hurt him for laughing. Regardless, I tried to wriggle my way out of an argument by asking about Julie. The response wasn't pleasant.

"I thought you and Julie-" I blocked myself from finishing my sentence and realised barely a second after the mention of Julie's name that they'd broken off their relationship a while back. My self-resentment was at its peak as I felt an apologetic rush surge through me while I looked at him with a sad sorry expression on my face. But it was wasteful energy; his response threw me and eventually, the self-resentment transformed into anger; he responded like a spoilt teenager. Maybe I deserved it. But I _was_ just trying to help.

"Did you have to rub it in?! Didn't you know?! We broke up weeks ago, you idiot!" He growled at me again, as he had done earlier, the sound punching through the silence. His facial expression ridiculed me as much as his words did and the anger was swelling in me. I could feel it overwhelming every square inch in my body but I resisted the urge to explode the situation into a full-blown argument.

"If you bothered to listen to anything I had to say, rather than being so wrapped up in yourself all the time, you'd have remembered! You're a self-centred arsehole, Kevin, and sometimes I wonder why I'm even friends with you!" He pounced swiftly and aggressively out of his bed and shoved me out of his bedroom, slamming the door in my face instantaneously. I stared at the door for a minute or so and heard a vague whimper escaping through the cracks around it. I felt horrible.

 **End of Chapter Six.**


	7. This Is What The Truth Feels Like

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ben 10 or any of the character's names, themes or imaginative items mentioned in this FanFiction.**

This is where things start to get a little interesting - or so I thought so. All I'll say is there's more to the circumstances than one might think.

 **Just a forewarning:** I have updated and changed some aspects to the previous chapters that you might be unaware of so you might want to give them another read. If not, carry on! :)

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: This Is What the Truth Feels Like.**

 _Who does he think he is? Coming into my room like that to tell me about…_ that… _laugh at me like I'm a joke and then rake up my broken relationship and shove it in my face! I knew something like this would happen. I miss grandpa Max…_

I wrapped myself up in my covers once again, which muffled most of my pathetic sobs and whimpers in the minute of uninvited silence but I could still hear them bouncing off every wall in my room and heading straight for my eardrum to torture me more and more. Nothing could have made me feel the way Kevin made me feel after he barged back in though; he was on a warpath.

As soon as he opened the door, I knew a storm was coming; the main light was ferociously flicked on as it tore through the darkness like a lightning bolt in the night sky. The door was slammed shut, echoing like thunder in my room, punching into the unbearable silence. He grabbed my broad shoulders and heaved me out of my comfortable and sorry pit before slamming me against the wall, ignoring my whimpers. He dug his trimmed nails into my shoulders brutally, so hard that I wasn't sure if he knew just how rough he was being. Furious was an understatement to how he was feeling; it was like he was looking at an enemy with pure rage.

"Listen up, Tennyson," he demanded, spitting my name, "I don't know what the hell your problem is, but it ain't fair to take it out on me, and I thought you knew me well enough by now to know that I wouldn't put up with it. And you know what? The only reason I'm not planning on giving you a good smack across the mouth is because I have way too much respect for your parents. And don't _ever_ talk to me about how "self-centred" you think I am because don't forget, barely a few months ago, you were practically bathing in fame when Julie was the one who was supposed to be in the spotlight on the tennis courts. I might be a jerk at times, Ben, but at least I'm not a self-absorbed little hypocrite. So before accusing me of a load a' bull, take a good look in the mirror and maybe you'll see the real reason why you're once again single!"

It wasn't that he slammed me against the wall; it was the way he looked at me. I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to hurt me more. And it broke my heart to see him looking at me in such a way; it was hatred I saw in his eyes. Pure hatred. I could see it building up, making its way to a peak as he continued to dig his trimmed nails into the flesh of my shoulders. Apparently though, after a few more seconds, he realised what he'd said and done and loosened his grip. He said something to me but my eardrums didn't seem to be functioning; all I heard was a blur of sounds coming from his mouth.

I closed my eyes and bowed my head to face my feet, allowing my brunette locks to cover my eyes. I tried so hard to make it all go away but I just couldn't keep it in anymore and as I felt a tear escape, my thoughts were devoured by my resilience to hide my emotions;

 _No. You won't cry in front of him. You're better than that. He doesn't deserve your tears… stop… please…_

My body seemed to defy my mental commands and pleads as whimpers and sobs escaped the small part my lips had moulded themselves into. I kept myself from looking at Kevin, eyes still shut tightly as tears continued to pour from them. I felt like I couldn't breathe. My almost silent sobs became loud overwhelming cries of pain. Pain so terrible that any bumps, cuts or wounds that I'd received in battle couldn't compare to it. Agony was filling the room with an unbearable sound, like the screeching of chalk on a blackboard. The tears felt like acid leaking from my eyes and it was as though they were burning my cheeks on their way down to whatever dared stand underneath them. My arms and legs felt like they were about to drop off in front of me and Kevin's words were on repeat in my head. The worst part was I knew that they were true and I couldn't change that any more than I could change the fact that I had was the one who harboured feelings for him.

 _He's right. I am a self-absorbed hypocrite. That's why I'm single again. That's why Julie didn't even want to be friends after she broke up with me. When did I become so stupid? When did I start acting like this? And why, of everyone, do I have to fall for Kevin?_

I continued to think thoughts of self-pity and self-loath until I grew somewhat aware of my surroundings. I felt Kevin shaking me trying to snap me out of it, but I couldn't see anything; my vision had burred everything in sight into one big canvas of faded colour.

I could swear I kept hearing him call my name but I still couldn't hear properly. For the first time in my life, I felt truly terrified; it was like being underwater, unable to hear or see anything properly at all. So, I just ignored Kevin trying to shake me out of my trance, and let myself fade away from reality. I could hear his voice again but still couldn't distinguish the words. He sounded frightened, but in that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care.

Before I knew it, the room around me disappeared and I was in total darkness. I closed my eyes and opened them to feel myself floating in mid-air. I tried to turn around to see if there was anything behind me but there was nothing. Before my very eyes, the darkness had projected images and memories into my vision somehow and triggered unwanted and unfamiliar thoughts. At first, I thought I was looking back in nostalgia, thinking about grandpa Max and Gwen and myself in the Rust Bucket. But nostalgia was a misinterpretation of what was happening to me; it was really about my life and how much weight I was carrying on my shoulders.

 _What's happening to me? All of this just because of Kevin?_

Deep down, I knew that what I was feeling was not as black and white as Kevin alone. There was something deeper. Something that would lead me down a path back to the origins of my heroism. That's when I realised that what was happening had a million different contributing reasons. It was happening because of everything; the aliens, the power, the responsibility, school, my parents, the fame... Plus Kevin on top of it all. It was no wonder this was the result; a seventeen-year-old mess of a boy who just wanted it all to stop. Who just wanted a normal teenage boys' life for a day, so that he could feel what it was like to be an anonymous nobody, to not be able to turn into an alien and fly away, to just be _human._

I then felt gravity shift; I fell miles deep into my past, thinking back to when I was ten; I loved having powers. I loved being able to do things that normal people could never dream of doing and it was fun... But ever since I'd matured from it, I just didn't seem to enjoy it as much. It became too dangerous and way too serious to see it as a bit of fun. I guess I took the Omnitrix off for precisely what I was wishing for; normality.

 _Grandpa Max has always said that it's my choice and my choice alone. But who else is gonna put their neck on the line for the sake of the universe? It's_ never _been my choice. And I'm okay with that I guess… so why is this happening now?_

By this point, a light of blended colour came back into my vision and I heard a familiar uneasy male voice talking in the distance. His words were just a blur of sounds and I was desperately trying to work out what he was saying. I wanted to say something but I couldn't move; my entire body went limp. I sensed myself slide down the cold unyielding wall and let myself become engrossed in lost thought once again while staring into nothing, trying to contemplate, with little success, what was going on, why I was in this situation and how I had let myself fall so far down. Soon after, an acquainted silhouette came into my view but I just kept staring into the blur around me. At first it was dull, but it soon became a striking piece of artwork, with all the colour you could ever imagine revolving around in irregular patterns, fusing and merging and then unravelling again like an abstract supernova. I had seen many stunning sights over the years but of all of them, this one stood out to me; and yet, it was all in my mind; real but untouchable. I was gobsmacked.

Once again, I heard Kevin's worried tone, this time a lot closer than before. I wanted to reply by hugging him but I couldn't bring myself to reality, let alone act upon it. Instead, I lingered in my preferred position, giving my senses time to regain consciousness as everything was just one big indistinguishable blur.

Kevin pressed on talking to me but I just continued staring into the masterpiece of colour I had manipulated in my head. It must have looked as though I was being completely ignorant towards him.

Then, without warning, the ground was stolen from beneath me, almost swallowing me up as the colour faded into black nothing again before a blinding light shot into my eyes with a burning sensation encompassing me from my feet to halfway up my abdomen. The sensation seemed to fluctuate in temperature every so often, cooling down to a moderate warmth and then increasing to a burn again. It was as though I was being burnt alive over and over and I felt like I had just experienced death itself as the blinding light transformed into a blank canvas of white nothing. I was alone for now.

* * *

When I finally came to my senses, everything had been erased from my memory. Everything after the point of feeling my tears roll to the ground was practically non-existent. But I knew something had happened. I just didn't know what – and I wasn't sure if I was prepared to find out. But I knew that I couldn't just sit there forever; it was time to face the worst of it.

For the first two minutes, I kept staring at what appeared to be glistening yet ridged tiles, trying to be sure that what I was seeing was reality and not just a dream. Once I was sure that I could touch the tiles in front of me, I let my eyes wonder around the recognisable room until they came to look upon Kevin who was sitting on the toilet seat in some tracksuit bottoms with no top on, leaning back to rest his gorgeous brown eyes. I hesitated for a second but somehow came around to ask the devilishly good-looking ruffian what had happened.

"K-Kevin? Where am I? What-" my voice was hoarse and croaky and I felt awful; it felt like my brain was pounding my skull, like it was aching to be released from the cave that protected it. I felt strange; there was an absence of any emotion… until I set my eyes on Kevin. Before that, I simply couldn't feel anything, I was completely numb. It was like I had been consumed by a black hole and all that I was engulfed in was _emptiness_.

As soon as I saw Kevin, in that very moment, I felt like he was the only one who could drag me out of this big black hole that I had been trapped in. He would have given me something to hold on to other than the life of an adolescent boy who was restricted to having to save the universe whenever she cried out to him. I began to curse the day I had put on my damned alien watch wishing it away.

"Ben, it's okay, don't panic, you're okay," He said in a sigh of relief as he quickly but calmly put his right hand on my shoulder, attempting to comfort and reassure me. I thought that my heart would have skipped a beat at the touch of his skin... but it didn't help.

I realised that I was in the bath and saw that my boxer briefs were absent, leaving me completely exposed in front of Kevin. I felt my face burn a crimson red, looking down at myself. I satisfied my blush by using a flannel sitting on the side of the bath to present some decency to Kevin. I brought my cheeks back to their normal skin tone and began to try to decipher what had happened.

"Why am I in the bath? What happened?" I asked with a fearful edge to my voice.

"You seriously don't remember what happened, huh?"

I tried so hard to remember what had happened and what I was really seeing but it was no use; all I could remember was being surrounded by nothing. I had absolutely no idea what had happened prior to me getting in the bath. So I shook my head, unable to bring myself to answer with words. I was still slightly unconvinced that I wasn't just in a really bad dream but I forced myself to focus on Kevin's words, afraid that I might miss the smallest detail.

"Well, after I yelled at you, you... You started to cry... I let go of your shoulders and tried to calm you down but... You started screaming and threw up all over me... Then... Then you wet yourself," he took a deep breath, and I could see how hard it was for him to take in and how much harder it was to spell out.

"Ben, I really think you need to talk to a counsellor," He looked _scared_. He'd never let himself ooze so much worrying emotion before and although it was a new experience for me, I wasn't particularly comfortable with it. At least I knew what had actually happened though. But little did I know he was withholding the full truth from me. I stared into the glistening bathwater, refracting and reflecting the light in every direction possible. I took in what I'd heard, entirely forgetting all the self-loathing I was preparing to inflict upon myself. I looked up at his breathtakingly handsome face. His chiselled jawline so masculine; his hair falling so perfectly beside his face; his eyebrows so thick and messy yet still jaw-droppingly gorgeous; his eyes so beautiful, yet overflowing with endless amounts of worry…

 _No, not worry... Fear._

I gazed up at him, allowing myself to take in his beauty, his brilliance, his intoxicating stance. But the moment lay waste as a cruel existence snatched it away from me; reality being the perpetrator. It grasped me by the throat. My imagination was transformed into nothing but an illusion as my desires were mercilessly ripped away from me and I truly began to acknowledge the expression that he'd moulded on his face. He was terrified. It was as if he were looking at the lifeless body of someone he loved.

A counsellor sounded like my worst nightmare, so I ignored his serious tone and poked some fun at him;

"Kevin, you smell," I smirked, trying to ease the tension with a cheeky but justified comment. He looked at me sympathetically, trying to force a smile out of himself. I could tell there was nothing that he wanted to say to me. So, instead, he immediately changed the subject back to what had happened. It wasn't a good sign; if Kevin Levin wasn't smirking or replying with an insult at a comment like that, it meant that the situation was beyond serious.

"Gwen's on her way here, I called her earlier but she couldn't wake you up… and at least I don't look like a prune." He gave me a cheeky frowned grin and I looked at my hands – he was right; my skin was extremely soft and mushy and I felt an overwhelming desire to get out of the glistening water to return my skin to its usual inflexibility. Kevin abandoned our small joke and returned to his remarkably serious tone;

"It might be a good idea for you to talk to her Ben, seeing as she's a girl and way more sensitive about things than I am… I mean you don't have to if you don't wanna, but I really think you should… I certainly ain't gonna listen to you winge like a little girl," He playfully sneered at me, making me wince in annoyance. Still, I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey! Just because you're insensitive to everything but your car…"

 _Right back at ya Levin._

He frowned at first and then let out a giggle.

"At least I know you're back to yourself Tennyson,"

I was too; I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. But I soon realised something that didn't make sense; _earlier._

 _Earlier? What on Earth did he mean by_ earlier?

"How long ago was earlier Kevin? I bet Gwen wasn't happy that you woke her up so early on a Saturday though," I gave him a smirk and a devilish frown. I continued trying to tease him, "I'd hate to think how much nagging she gave yo- what?"

I was cut off by a dumbfounded glare from Kevin. I reiterated my question with a puzzled frown up at him, at which he cleared his throat and began to answer;

"Ar-are you serious? Ben, it's half past ten," He was so shocked that I'd lost track of time but part of me felt relieved; I thought it was later than that.

 _Why's that such a big deal? I'm only a few hours short of the day. It's not that bad. And he calls me the drama queen…_

"Oh… well I should probably get out the bath. What are we gonna do today anyway? I just wanna forget about this whole thing to be honest," I tried to persuade him to let the events of earlier that morning slide; the last thing I wanted was to have to explain anything to Gwen or him or anyone else for that matter. What would I have even said to them? I wasn't sure I even had _anything_ to say to them anyhow; I don't remember anything from the blackout.

He gave me a second dumbfounded look that seemed more intense than the first and seemed to struggle to find the words that he was clearly so eager to voice. However, when he found them and spelled them out to me, I felt my stomach churn in an excruciating motion. I was astounded.

"Er, Ben, we can't do anything today because it isn't day time anymore; it's half ten in the evening. You've been staring at the same wall in that bathtub for nearly sixteen and a half hours."

 **End of Chapter Seven.  
**

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I'm proud of this chapter, stroke my ego by praising me please - or give me some tips as to what you think could be better. xD :P


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